Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Fair mineral development in Mongolia was the issue the World Economic Forum drew almost 100 business, government and civil society leaders together in June to tackle. The Mongolian Presidency, which has just finalized an agreement to start operations on one of the world's richest iron ore and copper deposits which is expected to contribute significantly to its GDP, co-hosted the roundtable in Ulaanbaatar.

Luhanskteplovoz [LTPL UZ, BUY], the leading Ukrainian locomotives producer, intends to sign a contract with the help of Transmashholding (LTPL’s owner) with Mongolian Railways for the delivery of 13-15 locomotives between now and 2011, said LTPL’s CEO, Mr. Bykadorov. He also added that the company is in negotiations with Syria regarding the modernization of locomotives and the delivery of new equipment.

LONDON, England - Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP) said Tuesday that it is increasing its stake in Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSX:IVN) by 7.3 per cent to almost 30 per cent as Ivanhoe continues to develop its Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project in Mongolia.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Mongolia’s economy started to recover as global commodity prices picked up and the government adopted an extensive policy reform program, stated Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) recent report on the country’s economic outlook. Following is an excerpt of the report.

Local Mongolian business communities and non-profit organizations lately tend to pressure more on the government to support Mongol-999 Joint Stock Company, a national consortium that joined around 2,000 private businesses in a hope to win Tavan Tolgoi project.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Mothers are hopeful to give birth in a more secure and comfortable environment. Government head and Health Minister promised that a new maternity hospital would be built and current maternity hospitals will be modified by next year. After seeing the maintenance work and activity of Maternity Hospital #1 on June 18, Prime Minister S. Batbold said, “I met mothers and they are satisfied. It is the start of our works to be implemented for the health of mothers and infants.

Celebrations commemorating the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Poland and Mongolia will be held on June 28th 2010 in Warsaw. The celebrations will be hosted by Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski and Ambassador of Mongolia to Poland Otgon Dambiinyam.

Friday, June 25, 2010

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AP) - Mongolian lawmakers have approved plans for a rail line linking with Russia to help tap large coal deposits in the south, the latest move in the long-delayed project that will help make the poor but mineral-rich nation less dependent on exporting to China.

TORONTO, June 24 /CNW/ - Polo Resources, the mining company with coal and uranium interests in Africa, Australia and Asia, announces further to the announcement on 27 April 2010 regarding Caledon Resources plc ("Caledon"), Polo no longer intends to make an offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Caledon.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

It is reported that a new 4500 meter resource drilling program at Aspire Mining’s Ovoot Coking Coal Project in northern Mongolia has intersected significant coal seams. The company has completed two holes to target depth 1.5km apart, both of which intersected significant coal seam thicknesses. One hole intersected 20 meters from 143 meters depth and the second intersected 6.2 meters from 99 meters. Drilling of the former hole is continuing.

June 23 (PTI) -- Mongolia that possesses some of the world's largest mineral resources like copper, gold, uranium and coal, wants to partner with India to develop its mines and infrastructure sector, a top Mines ministry official said today.

As the search for new mineral deposits sends companies to the far reaches of the globe, emerging economies play a vital role. The lack of exploration and development in these economies has kept vast mineral wealth largely untapped. This is evident in the new reports of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth, which should come as no surprise.

DANVILLE, Calif., Jun 23, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- S3 Investment Company, Inc. (Pink Sheets:SIVC) today announced that the company's Chairman and CEO Jim Bickel has attended a conference titled "Mongolia: Capital Raising" held on June 15-16, 2010 at the Chinggis Khaan Hotel in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. This annual conference focused on capital raising by Mongolian private sector and the Mongolian government by way of privatization and/or sovereign bond issues. According to conference organizers, investment opportunities in Mongolia have become exponentially abundant as the country is aggressively emerging from severe economic crisis last year and its mining sector is poised to boom.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Petro Matad (LON:MATD) has spudded the Davsan Tolgoi-1 (DT-1) exploration well, the first to be drilled in the 2010 campaign on the company’s Production Sharing Contract (PSC) on Block XX in Eastern Mongolia. DT-1 is being drilled vertically to an estimated target depth of approximately 1,440 metres, and drilling is expected to take 30 days to complete.

Origo Partners Plc ("Origo") is pleased to announce that it has strengthened its presence in Mongolia by completing investments in two Mongolian based exploration companies following its successful placing to raise US$30 million on 11 June 2010. Both companies have exploration licenses in areas where significant mineral occurrences have already been identified and are led by teams with experience in identifying and developing Mongolian mineral assets.

Recently SGK discussed a draft law on decreasing investment agreement length from 30 years to 15 years. This draft law was presented on July 2009. There were some Q&A session on the draft before MPs approved to discuss the law at the general session of SGK.

North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has secured its first ever deal to export breeding pigs to the Republic of Mongolia, with a shipment of 60 animals set for August, the exporter announced Tuesday.

TORONTO - Khan Resources Inc. (TSX:KRI) says it's pursuing legal action to recover what it alleges was "illegal expropriation" of its uranium licences in Mongolia and has hired a Washington, D.C. law firm to handle the case.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Jun 22, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Khan Resources Inc. /quotes/comstock/11t!e:kri (CA:KRI 0.24, -0.01, -2.08%) ("Khan" or the "Company") announced today key organizational changes, as well as an important update about legal actions it is pursuing in the fight to protect its interests in Mongolia and to preserve and enhance value for its shareholders.

The President’s Office last week organized a two-day conference on proper development of the mineral sector under the auspices of Davos Economic Forum, an organization set up under suggestions from President Ts.Elbegdorj. It was attended by representatives from the Government, investors, civil unions and experts in the field.

TOKYO, June 21 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Japan and Mongolia will hold two-day talks in Ulan Bator from Thursday to study whether the two countries should conclude a bilateral free trade agreement, the Japanese government said Monday.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Jun 21, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Prophecy Resource Corp. ("Prophecy" or the "Company") /quotes/comstock/11v!e:pcy (CA:PCY 0.58, 0.00, 0.00%) (PINK SHEETS: PRPCF)(FRANKFURT: 1P2) is pleased to report the successful completion of its spring exploration program on its 100% owned Chandgana-Khavtgai license in Khentii aimag (province), Mongolia. The work program consisted of 12 drill holes for a total of 2,205 metres including 903 metres of core drilling, and five lines of seismic geophysical survey for a total of 7.4 line km.

Monday, June 21, 2010

ULAN BATOR, Jun 20, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Foreign tourist arrivals to Mongolia have surged 59 percent in the first five months of 2010, compared to the same period of last year, the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism said Sunday.

Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)

[Xinhua: "Mongolian President Speaks Highly of Relations With China"]

ULAN BATOR, June 19 (Xinhua) - Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj said here Friday that the good-neighbourly partnership of mutual trust between his country and China is developing across all areas.

Friday, June 18, 2010

NEW YORK, June 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Peabody Energy's executives today observed that the company is in a strong position to create significant growth and shareholder value against the backdrop of very favorable long-term supply and demand fundamentals for the global coal industry. The outlook came at the company's 2010 Analyst and Investor Forum in New York, where senior executives reviewed the company's long-term projects and prospects.

A high level government and business joint delegation on mines sector, led by the Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Smt. Santha Sheela Nair, visited Mongolia and China recently. During their visit to Mongolia, the delegation called on the Prime Minister of Mongolia, Mr. Batbold S. and briefed him about the proceedings of the first JWG meeting and identification of specific issues. The Mongolian Prime Minister said that the Indian side should aim at mineral-based value addition projects and associated infrastructure development.

Aluminum Corporation of China, or Chinalco, is negotiating with Mongolia about its participation in the project of Oyu Tolgoi, a copper-gold mine of Mongolia. The earliest time for the final decision of Chinalco's participation would be in July, and the labor contract would be a booster for that.

Mongolia is set to reap large economic benefits from neighbouring China’s increasing demand for commodities over the next few decades to accommodate the country’s expected growth, according to RCM’s Asian expert Raymond Chan.

June 18 (Bloomberg) -- Mongolia is seeking investors to partner it in a $10 billion desert industrial complex that will allow it meet rising Asian demand for coal and copper from some of the world’s largest untapped mineral resources.

Vancouver, B.C.: Meritus Minerals Ltd. (MML) (C-MER) (the "Meritus" or "Company") is pleased to announce that it has now received results from recent sampling at the Gutain Davaa Project in Mongolia. An independent consultant, who is preparing a NI 43-101 report to satisfy the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange, and Meritus staff collected samples from the Toordogiin Shil and Toordogiin Hayr Prospects at Gutain Davaa during a recent visit.

June 16 (summarized by Mogi from www.open-government.mn) On the same article above Government Press Office announces the start of a 245 km paved road from Energy Resources UHG mine in TT to the Gashuun Suhait Border Point. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 27.

The principal business is that of an energy and natural resources developer and currently have projects and investments in the independent nation of Mongolia and Xinjiang, PRC. As an energy and resources developer, MEC acquire concession areas, and with an international team of experts, coordinate all aspects of mine development, including exploration, mine design and extraction to international standards.

Entree Gold Inc. (TSX:ETG; NYSE AMEX:EGI; Frankfurt:EKA - "Entree" or the "Company") has filed a comprehensive NI 43-101 Technical Report ("ETR10") on SEDAR, which can be viewed in its entirety on www.sedar.com or Entree's website at www.entreegold.com.

MONGOLIA'S plan to privatise its state-owned assets will allow international investors access to some of the world's largest untapped mineral resources through initial public share sales, most likely in Hong Kong.

By Hanny Wan
June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Mongolia’s plan to privatize its state-owned assets will allow international investors access to some of the world’s largest untapped mineral resources through initial public share sales, most likely in Hong Kong.

Mongolia, home to potentially some of the world's largest mineral deposits, is set to float some of its state-owned mining assets after receiving proposals from a number of bourses, including the London
Stock Exchange (LSE).

During consultations in Ulaanbaatar on June 15, Lithuanian Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Sarunas Adomavicius and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Mongolia Bayarbaatar Bolor discussed the most important aspects of bilateral political and economic relations, as well as cooperation in the areas of economy, transport, science, culture, education and renewable energy, informed BC press service of Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

(Reuters) - Asia's major stock exchanges have launched an all-out battle for IPOs from the land of Genghis Khan, with Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong jostling for a slice of the action from resource-rich and landlocked Mongolia.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Last Friday, Prime Minister S.Batbold presented his principle of Tavan Tolgoi project implementation to the State Great Khural. MPs generally, supported his idea of splitting the deposit into two parts. In his speech to the State Great Khural, Prime Minister S.Batbold said that “ …proposal of realizing Tavan Tolgoi deposit based on the will to become developed nation and creative minded people. We included solutions to provide opportunity to distribute economic benefit evenly to public using shares and to health, education and housing….”

MPRP group meeting at the State Great Khural held and discussed the issue on Tavan Tolgoi Investment Agreement and its following documents. MP D.Zorigt, Minister for Mineral Resource and Energy, made press release on the decision. The Government made two alternatives on Tavan Tolgoi operation.

Inflation at the end of May was 13.1 percent nationwide and 16.1 percent in Ulaanbaatar, where meat prices rose 50 percent and that of vegetables 20 percent. There are concerns that the inflation rate would rise to the level of two years ago, when it stood at 34 percent, with the price of wheat and flour rising the most.

VANCOUVER, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Entrée Gold Inc. (TSX:ETG; NYSE AMEX:EGI; Frankfurt:EKA - "Entrée" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Federal Court of Australia has approved the schemes of arrangement ("Schemes") between PacMag Metals Limited ("PacMag") and its shareholders and optionholders to effect a merger between PacMag and Entrée ("Transaction").

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. has met Mongolian mining companies seeking to list in the city, said Chief Marketing Officer Lawrence Fok, who is in the North Asian country for a forum on corporate capital raising.

Hunnu Coal Starts Drilling at the Unst Khudag Coal Mine. Hunnu Coal, Australia listed mining company, which acquired 60% of the Unst Khudag Coal mine on April 12, 2010 announced today that it commenced an exploration and development drilling programme at the mine. According to the Company, the programme intends to confirm the current exploration target of 250mn tonnes to 500mn tonnes of coal within the mining license area and to identify the extent of the coal seam into the adjacent licensed exploration area. A total of 33 drill holes are expected to be completed for approximately 5,000 metres. The findings from the exploration and drilling programme will be released in coming months, according to Hunnu Coal.

Ivanhoe Mines (NYSE:IVN) may have positioned themselves as one of the top mining companies of the future, as their stake in the copper-gold mining project Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, ensures them a place among the top mining companies at minimum, and potential to be among the largest.

Perth, Australia-based coal miner Hunu Coal, which has assets in Mongolia, has recently announced that it has acquired a 60 percent interest in the Buyan coal project, which is located within the giant Tavan Tolgoi coking coal field in the Umnugobi province of Mongolia.

ULAN BATOR June 15 (Reuters) - Mongolia plans to list its Oyu Tolgoi mine, one of the world's biggest untapped copper and gold deposits, and is receiving proposals from global stock exchanges to assist with turning its state-run stock market into a private enterprise, a government official said on Tuesday.

Monday, June 14, 2010

The Government of Moldavia held an underwater meeting last year to draw international attention to climate change. Like this, President Ts. Elbegdorj announced at Copenhagen Conference that the Government Cabinet of Mongolia will hold a meeting in the desert in order to draw international attention to desertification. Accordingly, the Office of the Government had been preparing for Cabinet meeting in Omnogobi. However, the meeting has been delayed until September.

Foreign Minister G. Zandanshatar took part in ministerial meeting as a part of 3rd Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), which was held in Istanbul, Turkey and also closed significant negotiation for Mongolia.

The Representative Administrative Board of Oyutolgoi LC has held its first meeting with G.Batsukh in the chair. Over two days the board discussed and then approved working procedures and also set the date of the next meeting.

Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit will be under 100 percent state ownership and every Mongolian will enjoy a preference to own shares of Tavan Tolgoi, a leading coal deposit in the world with a reserve of 6.4 billion tonne.

Shenhua, China’s leading coal miner, has been interested in Tavan Tolgoi since 2003. The company’s president Ling Wen recently said Shenhua had submitted its bid for a second time, adding that it “has the greatest competitive advantage over other bidders”.

THE governments of China and Mongolia are discussing a potential labour agreement which, if finalised, will transfer 2500 Chinese to work for the copper-gold mining project Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, the 21st Century Business Herald reported yesterday.

Aluminum Corporation of China, or Chinalco, a large Chinese resources company, is now negotiating with Mongolia about its participation in the project of Oyu Tolgoi, a copper-gold mine of Mongolia. If a labor contract is signed successfully, about 2,600 Chinese workers are expected to work for the project, said a member of the Chinese delegation on Thursday.

Petro Matad (LON:MATD) has restarted operations at its Davsan Tolgoi prospect in Block XX, in Mongolia's Dornod Aimag Province, after the foot-and-mouth enforced restrictions were lifted. On 1 June, the company had to suspend operation, as the governor of Dornod Aimag imposed blanket vehicle and personnel movement restrictions in and out of the area.

The government of Mongolia made decision to support infrastructure, processing industry and realization of major mining projects. The Cabinet Ministers’ Meeting resolved to present the draft amendment law on Value Added Tax Law. If the State Great Khural passes the amendment, some products will be exempted from tax.

Jun 10, 2010 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) -- [Correspondent] Bilateral dialogues, which take place within the framework of large forums, give an opportunity to review the priorities of interstate relations from the point of view of demands of modern times.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

/MONTSAME/ At the Wednesday's cabinet meeting, some Ministers, Mayor of Ulaanbaatar city and governors of aimags were ordered to take staged measures to develop a university campus and to work out a related plan.

Mongolia joined several l leaders from the Middle East and Asia to condemn Israel"s raid on a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza at a summit in Istanbul on Tuesday, calling on the Jewish state to end its "inhuman" blockade of the Palestinian territory, according to a report by Reuters. All members of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) except Israel itself denounced it for last week"s raid. President Ts. Elbegdorj led the Mongolian delegation to the summit.

NewswireToday - /newswire/ - Budapest, Hungary, 06/04/2010 - Move One has been operating in Mongolia for several years and as part of an investment plan in response to recently announced large-scale mining projects, will be expanding current operations in the country.

Mongolian President Tsahiagiyn Elbegdorj arrived in our country
[Uzbekistan] on 9 June to take part as an observer in a regular
session of the council of presidents of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization's member states, which will be held in Tashkent.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

U.S.-based Mongolia Forward has opened talks with MonAtom, Mongolia’s State-owned uranium development company, to form a joint venture to explore, mine, and process uranium in Mongolia. In accordance with the recently enacted Mongolian Nuclear Energy Law, MonAtom will own 51% of the project.

The general reaction of MPs to the government’s performance in regard to the economy last year was one of dissatisfaction as Parliament discussed in Friday a report on execution of the general budget of 2009 and another report by the National Audit Agency on the budget. The reports put the budget income at MNT1 trillion 994 billion, or 32.9 percent of GDP, while expenses stood at MNT 2 trillion 336.6 billion, or 38.6 percent of the GDP.

Switzerland-based Manas Petroleum Corp. has planned an upcoming gravity survey to prepare a 300-km seismic campaign on blocks 13 and 14 in Mongolia. Manas is debt free and believes that it will be able to meet with the existing funds all its cash requirements planned for the next 12 months.

Shareholders in Petro Matad Limited, the explorer targeting frontier lands on the Mongolian-Chinese border, must be wondering what next will come between them and the company’s first well on the Davsan Tolgoi prospect. First, it was an unusually long and severe winter that forced a suspension of operations on Block XX in Mongolia; now an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has led to a blanket vehicle and personnel movement ban in the Dornod aimag, site of the DT-1 well site.

IOM, in cooperation with UN partners including UNICEF, is to launch an Emergency Displacement Assessment to investigate the situation of thousands of rural Mongolian families forced to migrate from their homes to the capital Ulaanbaatar by one of the coldest winters on record.

Mongolia wants a state-run enterprise to own a "significant percentage" of the country's Tavan Tolgoi deposit, the largest undeveloped coking coal deposit in the world, so as to retain control of it, while a second tranche is to be operated by a group of foreign and domestic companies, Bloomberg has reported, citing Mongolian Minister for Minerals and Energy Dashdorj Zorigt.

June 7 (Bloomberg) -- Mongolia wants a state-controlled company to own a “significant percentage” of Tavan Tolgoi, an untapped coking coal deposit that has attracted the interest of the world’s biggest mining companies.

Voyager Resources Limited (ASX: VOR) announces that diamond core drilling has commenced at its Argalant Gold Project in Mongolia. The initial programme is designed to test highly anomalous geophysical targets that were delineated from a recent Induced Polarisation (IP) survey conducted over the area.

By acquiring a 60% interest in the Buyan Coal Project, located within the giant Tavan Tolgoi Coking Coal Field in Mongolia, Hunnu Coal (ASX: HUN) is aiming for a slice of a potentially huge resource endowment in Mongolia.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao concluded a two-day official visit to Mongolia, calling for a feasibility study on a China-Mongolia free trade area, and the adoption of trade and economic cooperation in the development of mineral and energy resources.

IMF representative P.Ramlogan yesterday met with First Deputy Premier and Democratic Party head N.Altankhuag and the leader of Mongolian People"s Revolutionary Party group in Parliament, D.Lundeejantsan. He told both leaders that the IMF could not complete its mandatory annual review of the Mongolian economy until the fate of the proposed fiscal stability law was determined in Parliament.

During his talks with Mongolian Prime Minister S.Batbold, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for a feasibility study on a China-Mongolia free trade area, and the adoption of trade and economic cooperation in the development of mineral and energy resources. Wen, a former geologist, held talks with to promote cooperation in mineral resources development, infrastructure construction such as transportation development, finance, energy, and environmental protection.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Mongolian Government has case against Mr. Paushok, director of Golden East Mongolia, at the International Arbitrage court. But, in April 2010, three Chinese companies, Xinhuang Aoshi Xinglong International Industrial, China Heilongjiang International and Technical Cooperative Corp. and Beijing Shougang Mining Investment, filed against the Mongolian Government regarding their investment in Tumurtei deposit, Mongolia, to the International Arbitrage Court.

The Global Times, a daily Chinese newspaper focusing on international issues and produced by the official Chinese Communist Party newspaper, the People"s Daily, has published in some detail the views of Michael Aldrich, an American lawyer who divides his time between Beijing and Ulaanbaatar, on the development of Mongolia"s mining-dependent economy. The lawyer feels that the Mongolian Government has realized that the country cannot properly develop without the flow of considerable capital northwards from China. It also wants to diversify the sources of foreign capital so no one country becomes the "key" investor.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Last Friday, the State Great Khural discussed the draft law on Budget Stability. According to Minister S.Bayartsogt, the Mongolia Development Fund was one of the efforts to provide stability of budge and due its implementation, when short run surge in commodity price occurs, unexpected revenue is spent for social welfare programs, budget investment in order to sustain and support the growth of economy and collected at the risk fund in order to secure budget stability.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has arrived to Mongolia on June 1st. His second day of visit to Mongolia, he provides speech at the Mongolia – China Economic Forum, started at 8.50 am, June 2nd. He will attend the opening ceremony of the Chinese Business Center.

Landlocked Mongolia sits on vast quantities of untapped mineral wealth and analysts say it could be one of the fastest growing economies of the next decade, as well as a key investment target for global mining giants.

THE chief executive, Wal King, and his fellow Leighton Holdings directors are headed for a dramatic showdown with directors of the group's German parent, Hochtief, at a board meeting in Hong Kong on Sunday.

China and Mongolia should strengthen exchanges and cooperation and advance the partnership of good-neighborliness and mutual trust between the two countries, Wen said in talks with Batbold in Ulan Bator, Mongolia's capital.